Gary Nelson: Enough (Misinformation) is Enough

GUEST COMMENTARY

Enough (Misinformation) is Enough: Toward A Rational Response To the Immigration Problem

By Gary Nelson
April 22, 2006

Nearly everyone agrees that we are faced with a tremendous problem concerning illegal immigration and border security. As with any issue, it is of paramount importance that we base our positions on facts – verified through objective research from reliable sources. This is especially important when dealing with emotionally-charged issues, because our passion can so easily skew our objectivity.

As Mark Twain put it, “The trouble with most folks isn’t all the things they don’t know. It’s all the things they know that aren’t so.” Unfortunately, many of my fellow conservatives have become glaring examples of Twain’s point: They have swallowed whole all kinds of distortions of truth -- and outright falsehoods -- concerning the immigration problem. Like urban myths, these “facts” are passed along without verification until they become widely accepted, causing irrational fear and ineffective public policy. It is especially distressing that many of our elected officials are the worst offenders, spreading distortions and inflammatory rhetoric without regard to the potential consequences. Representative Russell Pearce, in his recent article in the Arizona Conservative titled “Enough Is Enough,” does exactly that.

While I have the utmost respect and gratitude for Rep. Pearce’s stalwart support of the sanctity of life, marriage and other pro-family issues, I am dismayed by the content and tone of this article. Pearce makes numerous assertions that are questionable or demonstrably false, and uses unjustified personal attacks to try to make his point. The kind of fear-mongering and disinformation contained in this piece has the potential to fragment the conservative movement and drive some very unwise legislation.

In order to have a productive public debate on this issue, we must be reasonable and respectful. Honorable conservatives can disagree on approaches to the immigration issue and still be honorable conservatives. We must not allow this or any issue to divide, and thereby destroy, the conservative movement. When Pearce writes of “our spineless senators and congressmen hiding under their desks instead of taking a stand,” he insults our entire congressional delegation, most of which are solid conservatives and men of integrity. Interestingly, he then goes on to complain that “…anyone who opposes these people's ideology is automatically, and most often without any justification whatsoever, labeled a ‘racist.’” He is correct: they have no more justification to label him a “racist” than he does to label those who disagree with him “spineless.” Whatever position you take on this issue, I implore you: Express your views civilly and respectfully. Anything less is unworthy of the values we hold as family values conservatives.

We also need to take the high road in addressing the other side. Ad hominem attacks prove nothing, except our own ignorance. In the lead paragraph of his article, Rep. Pearce quotes a vicious statement from a radical Latino militant, with the obvious intent of characterizing all of the leaders of the pro-immigrant movement as having similar attitudes. This is grossly unfair and disingenuous, much like using a quote from David Duke to typify conservatives. The implication that any significant portion of illegal aliens in this country are motivated by the desire to “kill gringos” or turn America into another Mexico is ludicrous. Whatever position we take on how to solve the problem, I think most of us know that the vast majority of illegals’ motives have more to do with personal prosperity than with violent revolution.

Mr. Pearce does make some good points, including this one: “remember, if you are serious about doing something about illegal immigration, at the very least, start by staying informed!” Yes indeed – do your homework, and that means researching issues like the effect of illegal immigration on crime, employment, the economy, etc. It doesn’t mean only listening to one side of the argument, ignoring facts that don’t back up your preconceived ideas or uncritically accepting everything you read.

As a 27-year veteran of law enforcement, I understand investigation – the process of obtaining evidence proving or disproving an alleged fact. As a graduate student, I understand research – the process by which we determine the raw data about an issue, so we can approach it rationally. Both of these are sadly lacking in Pearce’s rambling discourse, in which he makes numerous unfounded allegations, some demonstrably false:

NONFACT #1: ILLEGAL ALIENS HAVE BROUGHT A VIOLENT CRIME WAVE WITH THEM INTO THE U.S.: Pearce says: “I suspect you know that illegals are probably responsible for more deaths in the U.S. each year than we lost at Pearl Harbor, or in the Iraq war or in the 9-11 attack…Violent gang activity is on the rise…Some estimates that as much as 80% of crime is committed by illegals…”

Simple logic tells us that if illegals commit a lot of crime, then when the amount of illegals coming into the country increases, crime will increase too. The truth is that in spite of the fact that illegal immigration has skyrocketed in the past 15 years, crime in Arizona and nationwide has been steadily decreasing. FBI Uniform Crime Statistics show that since 1990, per capita violent crime in our state has decreased around 25 percent, while nonviolent crime has gone down about 20 percent. (See www.fbi.gov or www.azdps.gov for verification). During this same period, at least nine million illegals are believed to have arrived in the U.S., most probably crossing into Arizona. The evidence that illegal immigrants are responsible for a crime wave simply isn’t there.

NONFACT #2: ILLEGAL ALIENS ARE COSTING US BILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN UNPAID TAXES AND CONSUMPTION OF PUBLIC BENEFITS. Pearce asserts: “Who suffers? The answer is you and I. We are forced to bear the burden of rising taxes to pay for free services for illegal immigrants! ... $350 billion in unpaid taxes due to the underground workforce…”

Research by the Cato Institute, a conservative think tank, found that immigrant households paid an estimated $133 billion in direct taxes to federal, state, and local governments in 1997 (see www.cato.org). The majority of employed illegals in the U.S. receive paychecks, and thus are subject to federal and state tax withholding. This includes Social Security, which under current law they will never receive back. It is likely that the millions being withheld from illegal immigrant paychecks have played a significant role in keeping Social Security afloat. Additionally, illegals pay sales tax every time they make a purchase.

A study by the National Academy of Sciences also found that immigrants benefit the U.S. economy overall, have little negative effect on the income and job opportunities of most native-born Americans, and may add as much as $10 billion to the economy each year. This study also estimated that the total public benefit cost of the average illegal alien, including welfare, Medicare, Medicaid, public schools, police and fire protection, was $80,000 less than the taxes they paid in their lifetimes. (See The New Americans, National Research Council, 1997, p. S-5.)

NONFACT #3: ILLEGAL ALIENS ARE STEALING JOBS FROM CITIZENS: Pearce: “$200 billion annually lost American wages…” “$1.6 billion in displaced American workers…,” “You pay an American a decent wage and they will do the job…”

Once again, Pearce blames illegal immigration for a problem that does not exist: American unemployment is at one of the lowest points in our history. As conservative talk radio host Dennis Prager puts it in a recent column in Townhall.com:

There are excellent reasons to be concerned about the vast number of illegal immigrants in our society. But their taking jobs from Americans is not one of them. If we have historically low unemployment rates while at least 11 million illegal immigrants are here, how many jobs have these people really taken away from Americans?

How many indeed? And while it may be true that Americans would do some of the jobs done by illegals if paid a decent wage, the hard reality is there simply are not enough American workers to do these jobs. The Cato Institute study found that:

Important sectors of the U.S. economy have turned to low-skilled immigrant workers, documented and undocumented, to fill persistent job vacancies. Hotels and motels, restaurants, construction, manufacturing, health care, retailing…Meanwhile, the supply of American workers suitable for such work continues to fall because of an aging workforce and rising education levels. The median age of American workers continues to increase as the large cohort of Baby Boomers approaches retirement age… With the number of low-skilled jobs expected to grow by more than 700,000 a year, and a shrinking pool of Americans willing to fill those jobs, Mexican migrants provide a ready and willing source of labor to fill the growing gap between demand and supply on the lower rungs of the labor ladder. (Cato Institute, Willing Workers: Fixing the Problem of Illegal Mexican Migration to the U.S., available at www.cato.org )

NONFACT #4: ENFORCEMENT IS THE ANSWER: While securing the border is mandatory, dealing with the 11-12 million illegals already here is another matter. Deporting them all would be a monumental task, costing billions and taking many years. The idea that compelling local law enforcement to arrest illegals would even make a dent in the number here is ludicrous; there are simply too many of them, not enough police, and not enough resources.

The human cost must also be taken into account: Illegal immigrants are human beings, entitled to the same basic human rights as you and I (please note that I said human rights, not legal rights). Have we really envisioned what the forced deportation of these millions of people would look like? What impact it would have on these people and their families, or the communities they have become a part of? What about the children who were brought here while very young, or were born to illegal parents? We need to give this serious thought, or we run the risk of enacting policies that may result in an act of mass cruelty unparalleled in the history of our great nation.

If we are to be credible voices in the public policy arena, we must believe things because they are true, not because it feels good to believe them. Illegal aliens are probably not the source of all, or even many, of the problems that plague us as a society. The problem of illegal immigration does not call for a moral crusade, but rather practical solutions. Imaginary statistics, hysterical rhetoric and personal attacks will not engender such solutions, and may damage the conservative movement irreparably. I urge my fellow conservatives to get the facts, consider all options and engage this issue reasonably and respectfully.

Gary Nelson is a veteran conservative activist, former Vice President of Arizona Right to Life and retired Scottsdale Police Officer.